Professional caterers share the secrets to throwing a party for a large group—recipes included
by Carolina Santos-Neves

Setup and Decor

When deciding on the look for your party, remember that your recent grad is not a kid anymore. So think sophisticated, but not stiff. If you have a garden, use your existing resources by transporting part of your living room to the outdoors, re-creating your home in a surprising and charming way. Bring comfortable chairs, low tables, and lamps outdoors and group them for relaxed conversation. Stringing Chinese lanterns or Christmas lights from tree to tree can also bring a lot of life and light to the yard, without too much fuss.

Spend a small portion of your budget on flowers from your local farmers' market and put one or two flowers in small glass bottles, vases, or jam jars, which you might already have at home. (Don't be afraid to mix and match all sorts of vases and containers; no need for everything to match.) For more ideas on how to arrange flowers, check out Flower Arranging 101.

If you have an outdoor pool, try launching a collection of rubber duckies or floating candles, for a fun and festive touch without too much expense.

Hang colorful handmade signs directing people to points of interest around the party: the food and drink tables, the desserts, the restrooms, even a guest book.

Music

Ask your grad to take care of the music! He or she can create multiple playlists that can be played throughout the day without having to be checked on. If you have a vinyl record player, bring that out and set it up so that guests can come over and put on an album they'd like to listen to. Or if there is a favorite local band looking to get some public attention, try inviting them to play in exchange for food and drink.

Cleanup

Make things easier on yourself by putting out garbage cans and recycling bins where guests can throw away their own plates, cups, cans, and bottles once they are finished with them. If you plan on renting glassware and flatware, not to worry: You don't have to wash those before returning them. Just make sure to designate a helper or two to gather the rented gear and stack it in the bins it came in so everything is ready to go for pickup the following morning.

And last but not least, don't forget to toast your grad, enjoy the celebration, and pat yourself on the back for throwing a party the guest of honor will never forget!